- Colloquium HomeSpring 2009 SchedulePhysics Demo Show (1/9)Summer 2008 Research (1/16)Faculty Research at VU (1/23)Faculty Research at VU, Part II (1/30)Ancient Astronomy (2/6)Interstellar Abundances in the Magellanic Clouds (2/13)Study Abroad -- Our Experiences in Japan (2/20)VU's Doppler Radar System (3/20)Planets Around Other Stars (3/27)Collision Reconstruction (4/3)Cosmic Rays (4/17)Astronomy in Antarctica (7:30 PM, 4/17)Senior Research I (4/24)Senior Research II (5/1)
- VU Physics and Astronomy Colloquium
Friday, January 30, at 3:20 PM in NSC 224. Join us for refreshments in NSC 231 at 3:05 PM.
"Interstellar Abundances in the Magellanic Clouds"
Dr. Dan Welty, Dept. of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
Studies of the interstellar gas and dust in the Large and Small MagellanicClouds explore somewhat different environmental conditions from thosetypically probed in our own Galactic interstellar medium -- lower overallmetallicities and dust-to-gas ratios, generally stronger ambient radiationfields, and significant differences in UV extinction. We will discusshigh-resolution UV and optical spectra of interstellar absorption linestoward stars in the Magellanic Clouds -- which have provided both accurategas-phase abundances and evidence for differences in dust compositionand/or overall metallicities in some sight lines. Knowledge of theinterstellar abundances in the Magellanic Clouds should aid inunderstanding the absorption-line systems seen toward distant quasars andgamma-ray bursts (which exhibit some similar properties) -- and thus aidin tracing the build-up of heavy elements and dust in galaxies over thehistory of the Universe.